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5 years ago
Hey guys! I just wanted to give an update on my situation and my plans moving forward.
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Section 1 - My Situation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So my hours had been gradually cut since around November. Holiday season is usually pretty dead, with summer being super booming, so I really just had to get through the winter (hence me taking a bunch of commissions around that time). Then of course, enter Covid. Although I was officially laid off August 30th, the truth is I haven't worked a *day* since April. My job kept me on as "forced leave of absence" so... was kinda in a bad spot.
I managed to get a new job in a town three hours' drive away, so I moved all my stuff up there with the intent to look for a place. Two months passed without me able to get *any* leads on an affordable place. To put it in perspective, there was a place "maybe" opening up in November, but it was $1500 a month so hardly a reasonably affordable place. To stay at airbnbs or whatever in the meantime would've cost me over five thousand dollars for one month.
I had to formally withdraw from the paying position before I even started and move someplace cheaper. That's where I'm at now. Kinda in limbo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 2 - Commissions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So up until this point I've mostly been playing catch up on emergency commissions I'd taken on since December. I know a lot of you are interested and I keep having to say no because I had too many on my list already... believe me I felt bad about it. I also felt bad about making people wait for commissions they'd already paid for.
The good news is, I'm mostly caught up on commissions. Patreon rewards, not so much, but I'll come back to that.
I want to open up commissions officially, but I want to do it right this time. Taking on a bunch in emergency sucks because they're automatically backed up. I'd love to be more... preemptive in the future, so it doesn't come down to that. What I would like to do is charge for a commission and start it that very same day. Some commissions take longer than others, so some might need more than one day, but I figure if I can have the sketch done at least, I can get approval to continue and it all just runs super smooth (my usual process is to sketch it out, send it to the commissioner, ask if it's good enough to finalize or if there are any changes to be made).
The problem being... due to my situation, I don't know if I can continue to charge just $50 anymore. I know my art isn't worth more, but in order for it to be feasible to keep creating, it needs to be worth more than I can make otherwise. I'm pretty much in ultra-survival mode right now, so if an activity doesn't pay enough I can't survive spending my time on it. Particularly because I still have rent to pay, and food to buy. My privacy is ultra limited now too so I have to spend it on things that can keep me alive. It feels awful to have to write that but it's true.
Going forward I'd like to add backgrounds and stuff to pieces, really create a "scene" with the work instead of what I normally do. Like drawn backgrounds. Things like "oh I want my character to be sitting in a cafe with a full belly smugly asking for the bill". More situation, more character, more expression, more DRAMA. That's what I'd like to work on going forward.
I also know there are a lot of people messaging me about commissions and asking when I'm available, and I've promised to reach out to them when I'm open, but I don't think I could feasibly take on every single person that expressed interest. I'm so sorry for that. Just know that your support means the world to me. I don't mean to choose favourites or pick and choose which idea is "best". It's more about what is feasible to complete "now", or ideas I can really focus on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 3 - Patreon Rewards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So up until now, I've had two slots for patreon rewards priced the same as regular commissions. These were originally meant to be "game overs", as in, actual characters and creatures from video games that don't belong to anyone in particular, or companies and games and such. I'd been perhaps a little too lenient on it, though. Instead I allowed people to request whatever they wanted, such as their characters and stuff. This means that absolutely no vetting went into patreon rewards, leading to some awkward situations where I had to say that I didn't do NSFW stuff to people who'd already paid expecting such a picture. It's all resolved now, but I think going forward I'd like to be a bit more strict about it.
The nice thing about "Game Overs" is that the characters, creatures, and situations are all recognizable and enjoyable by everyone. Sure the game may be obscure or popular, but because it's mostly public domain, people feel more excited about fan art and stuff. It's also way easier to do characters that exist in media already because tons of references already exist, knowledge of the characters is easy to come by, and often the character designs evoke a clear and distinct style that's easier to capture. Going forward I want to keep Game Overs at the same price but with that caveat: they must be actual game overs; this isn't just a guaranteed commission slot.
To further explain why, I love so much when I post fan art of a character or creature and people message and be like... "oh my gosh, I thought the same thing! So good to see that character like this". It provokes a discussion, interaction between the artist, the requester, and the commenter. And that's what I want, that's what I love about being in this community. Sharing moments, ideas, talking. <3
That's what I want Game Overs to be. A way for us degenerates to bond. To grow our community in a way that promotes sharing, talking, and joking. nvn
Anyway if you got this far, thank you so much for reading. Please, if you have any ideas or suggestions, leave a comment! Such as pricing? Or what you think of the Game Overs ideas? Backgrounds? Whatever, I'm open to discussion. Just talk/yell at me. <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 1 - My Situation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So my hours had been gradually cut since around November. Holiday season is usually pretty dead, with summer being super booming, so I really just had to get through the winter (hence me taking a bunch of commissions around that time). Then of course, enter Covid. Although I was officially laid off August 30th, the truth is I haven't worked a *day* since April. My job kept me on as "forced leave of absence" so... was kinda in a bad spot.
I managed to get a new job in a town three hours' drive away, so I moved all my stuff up there with the intent to look for a place. Two months passed without me able to get *any* leads on an affordable place. To put it in perspective, there was a place "maybe" opening up in November, but it was $1500 a month so hardly a reasonably affordable place. To stay at airbnbs or whatever in the meantime would've cost me over five thousand dollars for one month.
I had to formally withdraw from the paying position before I even started and move someplace cheaper. That's where I'm at now. Kinda in limbo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 2 - Commissions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So up until this point I've mostly been playing catch up on emergency commissions I'd taken on since December. I know a lot of you are interested and I keep having to say no because I had too many on my list already... believe me I felt bad about it. I also felt bad about making people wait for commissions they'd already paid for.
The good news is, I'm mostly caught up on commissions. Patreon rewards, not so much, but I'll come back to that.
I want to open up commissions officially, but I want to do it right this time. Taking on a bunch in emergency sucks because they're automatically backed up. I'd love to be more... preemptive in the future, so it doesn't come down to that. What I would like to do is charge for a commission and start it that very same day. Some commissions take longer than others, so some might need more than one day, but I figure if I can have the sketch done at least, I can get approval to continue and it all just runs super smooth (my usual process is to sketch it out, send it to the commissioner, ask if it's good enough to finalize or if there are any changes to be made).
The problem being... due to my situation, I don't know if I can continue to charge just $50 anymore. I know my art isn't worth more, but in order for it to be feasible to keep creating, it needs to be worth more than I can make otherwise. I'm pretty much in ultra-survival mode right now, so if an activity doesn't pay enough I can't survive spending my time on it. Particularly because I still have rent to pay, and food to buy. My privacy is ultra limited now too so I have to spend it on things that can keep me alive. It feels awful to have to write that but it's true.
Going forward I'd like to add backgrounds and stuff to pieces, really create a "scene" with the work instead of what I normally do. Like drawn backgrounds. Things like "oh I want my character to be sitting in a cafe with a full belly smugly asking for the bill". More situation, more character, more expression, more DRAMA. That's what I'd like to work on going forward.
I also know there are a lot of people messaging me about commissions and asking when I'm available, and I've promised to reach out to them when I'm open, but I don't think I could feasibly take on every single person that expressed interest. I'm so sorry for that. Just know that your support means the world to me. I don't mean to choose favourites or pick and choose which idea is "best". It's more about what is feasible to complete "now", or ideas I can really focus on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section 3 - Patreon Rewards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So up until now, I've had two slots for patreon rewards priced the same as regular commissions. These were originally meant to be "game overs", as in, actual characters and creatures from video games that don't belong to anyone in particular, or companies and games and such. I'd been perhaps a little too lenient on it, though. Instead I allowed people to request whatever they wanted, such as their characters and stuff. This means that absolutely no vetting went into patreon rewards, leading to some awkward situations where I had to say that I didn't do NSFW stuff to people who'd already paid expecting such a picture. It's all resolved now, but I think going forward I'd like to be a bit more strict about it.
The nice thing about "Game Overs" is that the characters, creatures, and situations are all recognizable and enjoyable by everyone. Sure the game may be obscure or popular, but because it's mostly public domain, people feel more excited about fan art and stuff. It's also way easier to do characters that exist in media already because tons of references already exist, knowledge of the characters is easy to come by, and often the character designs evoke a clear and distinct style that's easier to capture. Going forward I want to keep Game Overs at the same price but with that caveat: they must be actual game overs; this isn't just a guaranteed commission slot.
To further explain why, I love so much when I post fan art of a character or creature and people message and be like... "oh my gosh, I thought the same thing! So good to see that character like this". It provokes a discussion, interaction between the artist, the requester, and the commenter. And that's what I want, that's what I love about being in this community. Sharing moments, ideas, talking. <3
That's what I want Game Overs to be. A way for us degenerates to bond. To grow our community in a way that promotes sharing, talking, and joking. nvn
Anyway if you got this far, thank you so much for reading. Please, if you have any ideas or suggestions, leave a comment! Such as pricing? Or what you think of the Game Overs ideas? Backgrounds? Whatever, I'm open to discussion. Just talk/yell at me. <3
what i could suggest for ya, it need to be an idea that will not let to burnouts
gameovers are fun to see, and butt , so why not combine both?
the important thing is to take care of yourself :3